CONNECTING WITH NATURE THROUGH BIRDING

Have you tried birding at home with your kids? With all of the time we have been spending at home lately, I found myself wanting to get the kids more connected with nature. The problem is, it has been so cold + rainy that we cannot get out as often or for as long as we would like.

One day, we were reading a book we had just gotten about birds + I was reminded of the great bird tracker that my kids’ preschool does each year. Birding through the window or while out on walks is that perfect, simple way of drawing awareness to the nature that is all around us but often overlooked!

SETTING UP THE SPACE

In our home, we had pretty much anything we needed to get a small space set up in our kitchen. I gathered some titles + binoculars we had. I worked with my son to choose which birds we would add to a bird-watching chart. We assembled the chart + were ready to go!

For the past week, the kids have been totally engaged in watching for birds + identifying them. And trust me, you don’t need a lot! Don’t have binoculars? Use the camera feature on a device to zoom in on a bird!

Don’t have texts to read? Find some online through your library! You can find the other two featured in the photo below through your favorite book sellers, but I’m linking them to Amazon in the caption below since that seems to be the most accessible to everyone!

Cornell has a great birding site + you can also use their free Merlin Bird ID app to help your family identify the birds you find.

We printed out pictures of the birds from allaboutbirds.org, but that doesn’t mean you have to. Instead, have your kids help make a digital poster on an app or they can draw pictures of their own on some paper or poster board.

DIGGING DEEPER INTO BIRDING

Use the time spent birding for quiet reflection or engaging discussion! Some questions you could ask would be, what size + shape is the bird? What colors or patterns do you see? How is the bird behaving? If you were going to make a Bird Trading Card, what features would you draw? How is this bird similar to a (another bird)? How is it different?

YOUR FAMILY, YOUR THOUGHTS

Has your family tried birding? Where would be a good space to set up a birding station in your home? Are there area parks or forest preserves that would give your family an opportunity to discover new birds?

Comment below + if you aren’t already following me, be sure to head over to Instagram to follow my account @becauseofjericho!

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